Thursday, 19 September 2013

What's new Buenos Aires? (day 1)

Yes Alex, Angel jumped off the bus in Buenos Aires singing the song from Evita.
After a 5 hour bus journey yesterday from Rosario to Buenos Aires, we arrived in the late afternoon and promptly jumped into a taxi to the airport. Now, that was an experience - the driver made his own lanes (just short of driving on the pavement), after about 20 mins and less than £5 later we were at our hostel. We had read brilliant reviews on Trip Advisor about this place and it is all true, America del Sur is a brilliant hostel, all the good bits of a hostel (kitchen, socialbility, cheap) with the good bits of a hotel (clean, own room, efficient staff). Perfect. We have our own room which really is the best we have stayed in so far.
We had a stroll last night around the area we are staying (San Telmo) and bought some stuff to cook in the hostel to save some money - another expensive travel day, but we are managing to stay on budget.

San Telmo

After a brilliant night sleep we headed off to explore the city. We walked down through San Telmo to the old docklands which has been converted into expensive hotels and apartments (think London's Southbank) and walked over the Puente de la Mujer and had a play with the outdoor exercise equipment they have all over the towns in South America, just a play mind.

Plaza Mayor

We also walked towards Centro and past the Rose Palace (where Evita gave her famous speech), and walked across the the Plaza Mayor and had a general wander around in the glorious sunshine.
We then walked to the Plaza Dorrego and sat in a cafe and had coffee (still not found a great coffee) and a tostada to share.

La Boca

Then back to the hostel as there was a FREE walking tour of San Telmo and La Boca which the hostel runs, we walked past places we had been in the morning but this was great as we found out what the places were, and La Boca was somewhere quite a walk from town and the whole group got onto a local bus (all 30 odd of us!) and went to La Boca, which is a very poor area of Buenos Aires, and is an old port, the buildings are very colourful and it is now a but of a tourist trap - just souvenirs and 'tango' dancers trying to get you to have a photo taken with them (which you naturally pay for), but there was a Maradonna look alike - which we were told was quite a good likeness.

Our tour on a local bus

Now we are back at the hostel and ready to go out for a steak dinner.
Also we have fresh laundry!!! (dropped it of this morning and it was done for us, for just £5.64)